Every sales leader wants more top of funnel, and they almost always mean deals. The funnel that decides next year’s number is full of candidates, and most frontline managers don’t have one. Colum Lundt uses the Patriots’ trait-based scouting and David Skok’s recruiting funnel to show why managers should prospect for talent the way reps prospect for deals. He covers what a real behavioral interview sounds like and the one question to ask your managers before the next pipeline review.

Most sales managers recruit only when someone quits. By then, the damage is already done. Empty benches create missed quotas, rushed hiring, weak onboarding, and declining team performance. The best sales leaders build recruiting pipelines the same way elite reps build sales pipeline; consistently, proactively, and long before urgency hits. This article explores the direct connection between recruiting, retention, and revenue, and why top-performing sales organizations treat talent acquisition as a frontline management discipline, not an HR event.